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Column: Obama's weakness left Rice vulnerable

U.S. Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice has become the latest victim of the Benghazi terror attacks. On Thursday, Rice withdrew her name from consideration to succeed Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State.

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U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice has become the latest victim of the September 11, 2012 Benghazi terror attacks. On Thursday, Rice withdrew her name from consideration to succeed Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State. The presumed front-runner for the soon-to-be vacated post told NBC News that she "didn't want to see a confirmation process that was very prolonged, very politicized, very distracting and very disruptive" since it would blunt the momentum of the first several months of President Obama's second term, which is "really the opportunity to get the crucial things done." But by voluntarily withdrawing herself from consideration – or acquiescing to behind-the-scenes White House pressure – Rice may have emboldened those seeking to squelch the second term agenda before it is launched.

Rice became the focus of criticism over the administration's explanation for the Benghazi consulate attack that claimed the lives of four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens. On September 16, Rice appeared on the Sunday news show circuit promoting the White House line that the attack was a spontaneous reaction to a low-budget YouTube video that defamed Islam, rather than a planned, focused terrorist attack.

As this story began to unravel, criticism of Rice sharpened. However, when the ambassador emerged as the front-runner to be Clinton's successor at Foggy Bottom, Obama seemed to take a stand. In his first post-election news conference on November 14, the president bluntly called the attacks on Rice "outrageous" and said that if critics "want to go after somebody, they should go after me." He later reiterated that "when they go after the U.N. Ambassador, apparently because they think she's an easy target, then they've got a problem with me." These pugilistic statements suggested that Obama would go to the mat for Rice. She would never see the underside of the proverbial bus.

But critics were unimpressed with Obama's apparent show of backbone and kept the heat on the ambassador. A month later, it turned out Rice really was an easy target. Obama lamely accepted the ambassador's withdrawal, complaining about "unfair and misleading attacks." But the significant takeaway was not that Rice came under fire from Obama's political opponents, which was to be expected. It was that the president chose not to fight for her after pledging that he would.

Obama's failure to defend Rice feeds the perception that the president may talk a good game, but will cave under pressure. He's a talker not a brawler. As Dan Rather said on MSNBC, it shows that "President Obama can be rolled for his wallet and his watch. He's not a guy that's going to put up much of a fight." Even with the momentum of his reelection, the president refused to back up his strong words with resolute action. When the going gets tough, Obama gets going -- on vacation.

James S. Robbins is a senior fellow in national security affairs at the American Foreign Policy Council.

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